Britain's Got Talent, second live semi-final, review

Ed Power reviews the results of the second semi-final which featured
Jodi Bird, Ed Drewett and The Addict Initiative

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Singer-songwriter Ed Drewett took part in tonight's semi-finalPhoto: Rex

By Ed Power

10:31PM BST 27 May 2014

You won't catch Simon Cowell admitting it but part of the fun of Britain's Got Talent is watching hopelessly deluded contestants bump against the plate-glass of reality. Alas, with semi-final week here the truly hapless candidates are a dimming memory and it is studied competence all the way to bedtime.

Still, sheer quality occasionally compensated for the absence of sadistic thrills (or spills – no repeat of Alesha Dixon upending a tumbler of water over cheeky David Walliams). Strummer James Smith and goth dance troupe The Addict Initiative were certainly worthy finalists , each confirming they have the potential for a career post-BGT.

Fifteen-year-old Smith was the winner by popular vote, displaying searing star power as he blazed through Gnarls Barkley's Crazy. The Addict Initiative, vying with Little Orphan Annie belter Jodi Bird for second place, mounted a darkly camp retelling of Snow White. Judge Amanda Holden said it best: you wanted to see them rework Grimm's fairy tales start to finish.

Right up to the results, the second of the elimination rounds had been a proper tussle. Though the Addict Initiative were over-the-top scary they had nothing on Glasgow hoofers Mini Moves, with their terrifying Phil Spector frizzes. For unexpurgated, heart-in-mouth spectacle, meanwhile, it was hard to look beyond the full-throttle gymnastics of freestyle bikers Bolddog FMX. Their semi-final placing hints at exciting possibilities for future seasons: surely it's only a matter of time before someone rocks up at auditions in a monster truck or decommissioned tank.

The silly stuff was epic in its absurdity. Poland's Kony Puppets was buzzed off for a flailing Madonna-as-mangey mannequin routine. And Norman Wisdom-esque Ricky K was the closest to a straight-up flop with his strained comedy miming. The performance felt faintly tragic, the pratfalls watered down with desperation.

With all the novelty and bombast, the viewer had to readjust slightly to appreciate songwriter-turned-aspiring pop star Ed Drewett. Despite inflicting The Wanted's Glad You Came on humanity, he nonetheless has plenty in his favour – in particular, a stage presence that suggests a mellow Robbie Williams with a dash of Chris Martin earnestness (but why that drippy dirge about pencils again?).

Even bigger than Drewett's emoting was the collective grin sported by SweetChix, a giggly Essex quintet who invite you to imagine what the Spice Girls might have resembled had they met at school and really, really liked one another. While out of the running, Cowell evidently believes they have promise – could they be the ones to show there's life after Britain's Got Talent?